The Equestrian Physio

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The Equestrian Physio

It's time you showed up for them too...

🗓️TEP Training opens doors in Sept.👇

🏋️‍♀️ Rider-specific strength, rehab & performance systems that actually work.
🎓 MScPT | 300+ coached | 200K+ riders strong.
🧡 Your horse shows up every day for you.

02/19/2026

On this day, 10 years ago, I broke my hand because I wasn’t fit enough to be doing what I was doing in the saddle.

Riding is dangerous. Full stop. Yes, it has gotten safer over the years. But it is still high up, still fast, and still involves a 1000lbs flight animal with a mind of its own.

Working with horses is so normal for most of us, we often forget that.

But I have seen too many injuries, too many broken bones, and too many concussions that could have been prevented, had the rider at the time been stronger, more mobile, and had more endurance.

Does this negate the fact that s**t happens and sometimes you just don’t have the experience you need? No.

But in a sport this high risk, why wouldn’t you do everything in your power to manage the risk? Not only does it make you a better partner for your horse, help your health & longevity overall, but it can save you when s**t hits the fan, too.❤️

And that is exactly what I’m trying to help build. Thorough the knowledge and stories I share on here, to my rehab services, to The Equestrian Physio Training app. It’s all my effort to help fill this gap in the industry so we don’t continue to see injuries that could have been prevented.

02/18/2026

We all have barriers and limitations to fitness.

We WANT to be strong. We WANT to show up as an athlete. We WANT to be a capable partner for our horse.

But WANTING is not enough. So many things come into play to challenge us in the process of getting strong.

Kids, time, work, willpower, equipment access, lack of enjoyment.

But strength and fitness is also a choice.

Yes, barriers exist. And yes, they are valid. But making the active CHOICE to train and BE strong; for most of us in the equestrian world, that’s possible.

Training and fitness is HARD, no matter who you are. And even those of us in the most privileged positions still experience barriers. But, if we get curious enough, almost every barrier has a solution.

So, instead of telling yourself you can’t train because of XYZ, what if, instead, we got curious, and asked “what if?”.

What if I start with once per week?

What if I bring some resistance bands to the barn?

What if I train first thing in the morning before the kids get up?

What if I try going to the gym consistently for a month and see if I grow to like it?

What if I’m just starting too hard, and that’s why I hate it?

Yes, there is an element of privilege when it comes to training - but for the vast majority of us, especially in the equestrian world, we often DO have the capacity, if we get curious about our barriers - we’re just failing to prioritize it.

If you don’t have time, start with less. If you don’t enjoy it, bring a friend or make it a game. If you don’t have equipment, start with a cheap set of resistance bands. If you struggle with willpower, book it into your schedule or make a habit of tagging workouts onto rides.

If we start getting curious, we can start finding solutions. And when we start finding solutions, we start building habits. And when we start building habits, we start seeing results, building more motivation and continuing the cycle.

02/17/2026

I get it… it’s uncomfortable to think about the fact that YOU may be more of a problem in your horse’s performance than they are.

And to be clear, I’m not saying that the rider is ALWAYS to blame. There are absolutely times where a performance issue has nothing to do with the rider.

But (and I say this with love), those scenarios are not the majority.

One of the most magical elements of equestrian sport is the partnership. No other sport looks like this. Horse and rider form a performing dyad, each influencing the other in real time.

Where we run into trouble is that horses are generous, honest, and incredibly tolerant. They often perform DESPITE whatever nonsense is going on on their back, not because of it.

They are also much larger than us (a revelation, I know, but stay with me), which means they can absorb a surprising amount of asymmetry, tension, or restriction coming from us without it being immediately obvious.

It becomes easy to default to:

“He’s so stiff to the right.”
“She gets heavy in my hand.”
“He just can’t get that left lead change.”

And this is never about blame. We truly do not know what we do not know. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a responsibility to DO BETTER as we learn.

One of the most consistent pieces of feedback I hear from TEP Training members is this: as they get stronger, they realize just HOW MUCH they had been contributing to their horse’s performance challenges.

Around the three month mark, I send a check-in survey. Over and over again, riders report that performance or behaviour issues begin to clear up, even though they never directly trained those issues at all.

When your body becomes stronger and more capable, the conversation between you and your horse changes. The aids feel clearer. The resistance softens. The “problem” often dissolves because the partnership is functioning at a higher level.

And that realization is hard to accept if you haven’t experienced it firsthand.

But it doesn’t make it any less true.

02/16/2026

I’m fine… it’s fine… everything’s fine😂😅🔥

02/14/2026

Happy hearts day y’all❤️💕🩷❤️

02/11/2026

Don’t sleep on upper body moves! ⬇️ (just because you don’t see the value...)
You might not notice a huge change in your riding after the first time you press a dumbbell overhead or row a barbell. You might not even notice much the 30th time. That doesn’t mean it’s not working. It means you’re building a system.

A lot of riders who train out of the saddle (if they train at all) tend to focus on what they’ve HEARD they need most. And core work is usually at the top of the list. “Bouncy hands?” More core. “Unsteady lower leg?” Core. “Collapsing through your seat?” Yep... "We need more cowbell ***cough*** core!".

Next up, we'll default to legs, squats, lunges, bridges. And that makes sense too: your legs are your base in the saddle. They help you absorb force, stay with your horse’s motion, and hold your position.

But we tend to skip upper body strength! Especially upper body pushing strength.

Most riders don’t see the link between bench presses or overhead presses and better riding.

And even if we ignore the out-of-saddle needs (carrying buckets, throwing hay bales, pushing open frozen gates, or even tacking up), compound movements (multi-joint exercises) go far beyond just working your arms.

When coordinated well, these lifts teach your WHOLE body how to move with control, from the ground up. You learn how to drive through your legs, brace through your core to translate that power, and express force through your upper body. Sound familiar? It should, because that's the same sequence of muscular effort that helps you half halt with your hands and seat, stay balanced on the backside of a jump, open up for an extended canter, and more.

And while I'm not a fan of the 'piecemeal" style of training just your weak areas, if you ARE focusing on only a few things, compound upper body lifts are a key element.

Do you like this style of breakdown? Follow for more rider-specific insights🧡

02/10/2026

Tell me again how this trend is anything but pure truth?

Whats even funnier is that I bought my hat with my own money as a 9 year old. Money I won I at a regional SPEECHES contest😂

✔️Talks too much
✔️Big ol’ nerd
✔️Questionable fashion choices

…I really don’t think much has changed🤷‍♀️.

02/09/2026

I often talk about the 6 key components to an effective rider:

Skill
Strength
Power
Endurance
Body Awareness/ Control
Mobility

And to be fair, there are ones I don’t talk about much that do still belong on that list.

Mind, and even Spirit

I don’t talk about them much because as a physio and strength coach, they’re not really in my scope. But they absolutely do deserve consideration…

02/08/2026

A message for those who feel disheartened because they “haven’t made any progress yet”.

Instead of thinking how many weeks you’ve been at it, think instead of how many high quality sessions you’ve put in.

10 weeks of effort is probably only 6 or so high quality sessions if you’re doing something weekly. 12-15 if you’re doing it twice a week.

The body takes a long time and a lot of repetition to adapt. Keep at it. The reps will accumulate and you WILL see outcomes

02/05/2026

Niche rant: “Bursitis” is a lazy diagnosis. Very rarely does the bursa decide to just go and get pi**ed off for no reason…

You need to ask WHY has the bursa flared? What other structures in the area are more likely to explain the symptoms? What in life/movement/sport/exercise has suddenly caused those structures to go off?

STOP telling people they simply have “bursitis” and leaving it there… I can guarantee if you go further you’ll find a lot more answers.

02/04/2026

Random exercises ≠ training.

Stop scrolling for a collection of random s**t to do, and instead focus your attention on building a comprehensive, progressive PLAN.

We ain’t out here playing whack-a-mole. It’s chess, my friends.

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Guelph
Guelph, ON
N1C0A1

Website

http://www.theequestrianphysio.ca/, https://www.theequestrianphysio.ca/tep-training-app-landing-page

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